diff --git a/R/format-conditions.R b/R/format-conditions.R
index 57c242108..db5ea6559 100644
--- a/R/format-conditions.R
+++ b/R/format-conditions.R
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ format_error <- function(message, .envir = parent.frame()) {
   })(), collapse = TRUE, strip_newline = TRUE)
 
   # remove "Error: " that was only needed for the wrapping
-  formatted1[1] <- sub("Error: ", "", formatted1[1])
+  formatted1[1] <- sub("Error:[ ]?", "", formatted1[1])
 
   update_rstudio_color(formatted1)
 }
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-format-conditions.R b/tests/testthat/test-format-conditions.R
index aafe51613..4b411613e 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-format-conditions.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-format-conditions.R
@@ -165,3 +165,7 @@ test_that_cli("suppressing Unicode bullets", {
     )))
   }))
 })
+
+test_that("edge cases", {
+  expect_equal(cli::format_error(""), "")
+})